Two-passenger rocking toy



y 1963 w. M. CAMPBELL 3,096,120

TWO-PASSENGER ROCKING TOY Filed Nov. 24, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN T 0R. W/A L MM M. Cid/14, 562 4,

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3,fi95,l2fi Patented July 2, 1963 3,096,120 TWO-PASSENGER ROCKING TOY William M. Campbell, 1621 Craft, Iudianapoiis, Ind. Filed Nov. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 154,627 2 Claims. (Cl. 297-247) This invention relates to a novel two-passenger rocking toy.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a more amusing, more attractive, and safer toy of the kind indicated, wherein the passengers are enclosed between protective side members, in which securable gates are provided for entrance and exit, and sit upon seats with their feet resting upon footboards, and safety seat belts are provided for the passengers, and wherein stop bars extend beyond the ends of the toy which serve to engage the ground to prevent over-rocking and tipping over of the toy.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a low-priced toy of the character indicated above, which can be economically constructed and assembled of a variety of readily available materials, including wood, metal, and plastics, and which can be made in knockdown kit form, to be assembled without skill by the buyers of the toy.

Other important objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein, for purposes of illustration only, a specific form of the invention is set forth in detail.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side perspective view of a rocking toy of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a Vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an end view of the toy; and,

FIGURE 5 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3.

Referring in detail to the drawings, wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the illustrated rocking toy comprises an open semi-cylindrical frame 10, which comprises a pair of laterally spaced parallel arcuate rockers 12, and longitudinal, normally horizontal first and second side bars 14 and 16, respectively, which are longer than the rockers and extend longitudinally outwardly therefrom, so as to define ground-engaging stop bars 18 which prevent overrocking and tipping over of the toy. The side bars 14 and 16 are suitably secured to the outer sides of the rockers 12, adjacent their upper ends, as by means of bolts 20.

Pairs of vertical strut bars 22 are fixed, at their upper ends, as indicated at 24, to the inward sides of the side bars 14 and 16, at points spaced equally from the midpoints of the side bars and from the ends of the rockers, and are secured, at their lower ends, to the outer sides of the rockers 12, as by means of bolts 26, the strut bars 22 being disposed at right angles to the side bars 14 and 16 and chordally related to the rockers. The side bars 14 and 16 are braced, relative to each other, by means of a middle cross bar 28, and end cross bars 39, which are spaced from the end-s of the rockers. The end cross bars 30 serve as handle bars for passengers, as hereinafter described.

The rockers 12 are spaced and braced relative to each other, by means of cross bars, which include top cross bars 32, seatably secured to the rockers adjacent their outer or upper ends 34, a middle cross bar 36, at the midpoints of the rockers, and intermediate cross bars 38 disposed between and spaced from the cross bars 32 and 36.

The second side bar 16 is discontinuous, and is composed of short outer end portions 40, to whose inner ends are hinged, as indicated at 42, somewhat longer gate portions 44, which have free ends 46 adapted, in the closed positions of the gate bars, to abut the free ends 48 of a relatively long intermediate portion 50-, which extends longitudinally outwardly beyond the strut bars 22. The handle cross bars 30 can be extended outwardly beyond the intermediate portion 50, so as to provide detents 52, adapted to be embraced by notches 54, in the lower edges of latches 56, which are pivoted, on the laterally outward sides of the side bar end portions 40, as indicated at 58, whereby the gate portions 44 are releasably maintained in their closed positions.

The gate portions 44 provide passenger access to seats 60, which comprise transverse horizontal seat boards 62 supported upon and suitably secured to vertical segmental support plates 64, the support plates being suitably fixed to the inward sides of the rockers 12, at points spaced below the upper ends 34 of the rocker-s. Vertical transverse seat back plates 66 are suitably fixed to and rise from the seat boards 62, and are suitably fixed to the longitudinally inward sides of the rockers 12. Seat belt straps 68 and 70 are suitably secured, as to the end edges of the back plates 66, the straps 68 having free ends 72 provided with bolt holes 74, and the strap 70 being pro vided with a handle 76, on its free end, through which the free end 72 is securably and adjustably engageable, to hold passengers in seated positions on the seats 60, facing inwardly relative to the ends of the rockers 12.

Spaced below and positioned longitudinally inwardly, relative to the seats 69, are foot rest-s 78 which comprise transverse footboards 80, tilted toward the seats 60. The footboards are suitably secured, at their longitudinally outward edges, as indicated at 82, to the laterally inward sides of the rockers 12. The footboards are supported, at their longitudinally inward edges, by upwardly and longitudinally outwardly enclosed struts 84, whose lower ends are supportably secured to the bolts 26, which secure the lower ends of the strut bars 22 to the rockers.

In operation, child passengers being seated upon the seat boards, and the gate portion-s 44 of the side bar 16 being closed and latched, and the seat belts secured, the passengers grasp the handle cross bars 36 and, by shifting their weight, cause the toy to rock back and forth, on the ground or other surface. Danger of tipping the toy over endwise, due to over-rocking thereto, is prevented by the stop bars 18, which, in the event of overrockin'g, engage the ground and stop the toy from being tipped over.

Although there has been shown and described a preferred form of the invent-ion, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily confined thereto, and that any change or changes in the structure of and in the relative arrangements of components thereof are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A two-passenger rocking toy comprising a pair of laterally spaced side members having arcuate rockers having upper ends and longitudinal side bars secured to the rockers at their upper ends, said side bars having end portions reaching longitudinally outwardly beyond the ends of the rockers and defining ground-engageable stop bars, means spacing and connecting the rockers, means spacing and connecting the side bars including transverse handle bars located near to and spaced inwardly from the ends of the rockers, inwardly facing seats extending between and secured to the rockers below the side bars and facing said handle bars, foot rests eX- tending between and secured to the rockers at locations spaced below and spaced longitudinally inwardly from a a the seats, one of said side bars being discontinuous, and comprising a relatively long intermediate portion, a pair ofvertical laterally spaced strut bars secured at their lower ends to the related rocker and at their upper ends to said intermediate portion, said one side bar further comprising end portions fixed to the related rocker, and spaced from the ends of the intermediate portion, gate portions hinged to the longitudinally inward ends of the end portions to assume closed positions in the gaps between the end portions and the intermediate portion, and latch means for securing the gate portions in closed position.

2. A two-passenger rocking toy comprising a pair of laterally spaced side members having arouate rockers having upper ends and longitudinal side bars secured to the rockers at their upperends, said side bars having end portions reachinglongitudinally outwardly beyond the ends of the rockers and defining ground-engageable stop bars, means spacing and connecting the rockers, means spacing and connecting the side bars including transverse handle bars located near to and spaced inwardly from the ends of the rockers, inwardly facing seats extending between and secured-to therockers below the side bars and facing said handle bars, foot rests extending between and secured to the rockers at locations spaced be: low and spaced longitudinally inwardly from the seats, one of said side bars being discontinuous, and comprising a relatively long intemediate portion, a pair of vertical laterally spaced strut bars secured at their lower, ends to the related rocker and at their upper ends to said intermediate portion, said one side bar further comprising end ,4; portions fixed to the related rocker, and spaced from the ends of the intermediate portion, and gate pontions hinged to the longitudinally inward ends of the end portions to assume closed positions in the gaps between the end portions and the intermediate port-ion, and latch means for securing the gate portions in closed position, comprising detents extending laterally from the intermediate portion, and latches pivoted on the gate portions and having notches engageable over the detents.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 317,028 Shields May 5, 1885 660,016 Kerr Oct. 16,11900 915,793 Parmenter Mar. 23, 1909 938,172 Shulz Oct.26, 1909 1,302,238 Stevenson Apr. 29, 1919 1,412,723 Toal Apr, 11, 1922 1,695,737 Molsdale Dec. 18, 1928 1,902,709 King Mar. 21, 1933 2,225,723 Spitzwieser a Dec. 24, 1940 2,585,721 Baohand Feb. 12, 1952 2,675,060 Strand Apr. 13, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 177,839 Germany Nov. 3, 1906 40,476 Austria Jan. 10, 1910 OTHER REFERENCES Playthings magazine, November 1958, vol. 56, No. 11, 

1. A TWO-PASSENGER ROCKING TOY COMPRISING A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED SIDE MEMBERS HAVING ARCUATE ROCKERS HAVING UPPER ENDS AND LONGITUDINAL SIDE BARS SECURED TO THE ROCKERS AT THEIR UPPER ENDS, SAID SIDE BARS HAVING END PORTIONS REACHING LONGITUDINALLY OUTWARDLY BEYOND THE ENDS OF THE ROCKERS AND DEFINING GROUND-ENGAGEABLE STOP BARS, MEANS SPACING AND CONNECTING THE ROCKERS, MEANS SPACING AND CONNECTING THE SIDE BARS INCLUDING TRANSVERSE HANDLE BARS LOCATED NEAR TO AND SPACED INWARDLY FROM THE ENDS OF THE ROCKERS, INWARDLY FACING SEATS EXTENDING BETWEEN AND SECURED TO THE ROCKERS BELOW THE SIDE BARS AND FACING SAID HANDLE BARS, FOOT RESTS EXTENDING BETWEEN AND SECURED TO THE ROCKERS AT LOCATIONS SSPACED BELOW AND SPACED LONGITUDINALLY INWARDLY FROM THE SEATS, ONE OF SAID SIDE BARS BEING DISCONTINUOUS, AND COMPRISING A RELATIVELY LONG INTERMEDIATE PORTION, A PAIR OF VERTICAL LATERALLY SPACED STRUT BARS SECURED AT THEIR LOWER ENDS TO THE RELATED ROCKER AND AT THEIR UPPER ENDS TO SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION, SAID ONE SIDE BAR FURTHER COMPRISING END PORTIONS FIXED TO THE RELATED ROCKER, AND SPACED FROM THE ENDS OF THE INTERMEDIATE PORTION, AND GATE PORTIONS HINGED TO THE LONGITUDINALLY INWARD ENDS OF THE END PORTIONS TO ASSUME CLOSED POSITIONS IN THE GAPS BETWEEN THE END PORTIONS AND THE INTERMEDIATE PORTION AND LATCH MEANS FOR SECURING THE GATE PORTION IN CLOSED POSITION. 